Prior to the age of smart phones and mobile tablets, the need for recording media data, for example, audio data, video data, or any other media data in the form of a message, a media clip, etc., while on the move was not high. One method to record, for example, audio data was to make a phone call, speak on the phone, and record a user's voice on the other end of the line, for example, when using answering machines and voicemails, or when speaking on a recorded line. However, as technology developed and electronic devices such as smart phones, tablets, etc., became popular, mobile applications for recording audio data and other media data on such electronic devices gained popularity. For example, multiple communication modes such as a push to talk (PTT) communication mode, a tap to start (TTS) communication mode, a release to record (RTR) communication mode, a release to stop (RTS) communication mode, a tap to end (TTE) communication mode, etc., were developed for recording audio data.
In the push to talk (PTT) communication mode, a user presses or pushes and holds a button on an electronic device, for example, a mobile phone, or taps on an icon on a graphical user interface (GUI) of the electronic device and keeps the button or icon pressed. The user records media data while the button is pushed down or pressed. The recording of the media data continues as long as the button is held or pressed. When the button is released, the recording stops. Upon release of the button, a recorder of the electronic device terminates the recording of the media data, saves the recorded media data, for example, in the form of a media clip, a media message, etc., and stores the recorded media data on the electronic device, or sends the recorded media data to a network or to another electronic device. This PTT communication mode provides the user with one click easy method to record short media data.
The tap to start (TTS) communication mode requires a user to first click on a start button or an initiation button on the electronic device to start the recording process. In this case, the user clicks, that is, taps and releases the button, at which time a recorder of the electronic device initiates recording of the media data. The user then has to tap on a stop button on the electronic device to stop the recording. After tapping on the stop button, the recorder terminates the recording and saves the recorded media data. There is also a variation of the TTS communication mode, where a user is not required to click the stop button on the electronic device. Instead, the electronic device performs a voice activity detection to determine when the user has stopped speaking, and at this time the electronic device automatically terminates the recording of the media data and saves the media data.
After initiating recording of media data, the release to record (RTR) communication mode allows a user to release the initiation button on the electronic device to continue the recording process. In the RTR communication mode, the user can either keep the button held while recording or can release the button to continue recording. A user can switch from one mode of recording to another by releasing the button. The tap to end (TTE) communication mode is triggered after the user releases the button, and the recording process is then in progress, and the user can terminate the recording by tapping on the button. In this case, the user has to tap on a stop button on the electronic device to terminate the recording. After tapping on the stop button, the recorder terminates the recording of the media data and saves the recorded media data. In the release to stop (RTS) communication mode, the user is required to release the button on the electronic device to stop or terminate the recording process. In the RTS communication mode, the user can either keep the button pressed to continue recording or can release the button to stop recording.
The push to talk (PTT) communication mode allows a user to record short media data quickly, with a single press of a button on the electronic device, that is, all the user is required to do is press the button and then release the button. However, in the PTT communication mode, the user finds it difficult to record lengthy media data. The user is forced to interact with the electronic device throughout the recording of the media data, which makes the process for recording lengthy media data inconvenient. While recording a long media message, the user's finger may inadvertently slip off the “push to talk” button on the electronic device, which would indicate to the electronic device that the user wants to terminate the recording, thereby causing the electronic device to abruptly terminate the recording of the media message even though the user intended to continue recording the media message. It is also not feasible for a user, while pressing a button, to place a smart phone at his/her ear to speak, forcing him/her to use a speakerphone.
Moreover, the above mentioned models for recording media data do not offer a method for the user to cancel the recording once begun, or perform any other action such as switching from one communication mode to another communication mode, unless the graphical user interface provides an additional user interaction option, after the recording is completed, that would request the user whether he/she would like to save or cancel the last recording, or perform any other action. Such an interaction makes it inconvenient for the user to record the media data because such an interaction adds one additional, typically unnecessary step, to record the media data.
Hence, there is a long felt but unresolved need for a computer implemented method and system that records media data in one or more communication modes based on a user's gestures on a graphical user interface of the user's electronic device, while allowing the user to switch between the communication modes for recording the media data, or to cancel recording of the media data, or to perform any other action associated with the media data at any time during and/or after the recording of the media data.